Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan has been named as the global chief executive officer (CEO) of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, making him the first Indian origin person to hold the post in a large pharma multinational.

Narasimhan, 41, a doctor from Harvard Medical School, is a second-generation immigrant in the US. His parents moved there from Tamil Nadu in the 1970s. He has been with Novartis since 2005. At present, he holds the post of global head of drug development and chief medical officer and will assume the new post from February. Before joining Novartis, he worked at McKinsey & Co.